Tangled
by Turtle Kid the Woolgatherer
Summary: AU..Part II: In which a vacation is started, and some are displeased.
1. Part I, Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I do not own The Wallflower, and I am making no profit from writing this piece of crap that may pass for fanfiction. Please, no suing.

* * *

To be King Of The Darkness was a big deal. You had to like the dark, naturally, but just liking something is no reason to rule it. You needed discipline and an acute ability to not be easily scared by so-called "horrible" things, or else you'd muck everything up and the King Of The Light might come in and take over, complaining that you're incompetent.

Luckily for Sunako Nakahara, her father was not the King Of The Darkness. Her mother was.

"Now dear," said Sunako's mother while a gargoyle helped her to stop breathing with an interesting device known as the corset. "I know that you . . . hm, how to put this delicately . . . absolutely hate going to the balls we hold. So, I want you to look after your father tonight." She grunted a little as the gargoyle tied off her corset. "Thank you, Emiko." She turned her attention back to her daughter. "You can even bring Noi-chan, if you want. She won't freak your father out so much."

Sunako, in pants and a nice, loose, long-sleeved stained shirt said, "Okay," and left to go find her friend.

"Oh! Dear?" Sunako's head poked back in. She blinked as her mother started applying her makeup and Emiko pinned up her hair in an elegant topknot (her mother's favorite hairstyle, being so simple). "Be careful no to step into the ballroom. And you probably shouldn't go walking in the gardens, either. You do remember that the four light princes are coming, right?"

"Yeah."

"Oh, good." Sunako went to leave. "Dear?" She stopped and turned around again. "Your aunt is also coming." Here Sunako adopted a rather horrified look, though only her mouth was visible. Now she knew why her mother had said that she shouldn't go to the ballroom. "I know, dear, but try not to let her get to you. You're fine the way you are, and you don't need to get married or do anything girlish that you don't want to."

Sunako's face smoothed again. "Thanks." And she left. But just to make sure she wouldn't have to come back again, she ran as fast as she could and teleported to a few hallways over.

Sunako trudged along the vast hallways of her home, although she could have floated. To find Noi-chan before the princes came would be a challenge, as she had a habit of disappearing or turning into a bug at the absolute _worst_ times. (They hadn't been able to find a Witch to teach her, as they were so rare.)

So she and Sunako spent hours a day figuring out ways to train her, which included balancing a stick on her nose, funnily enough. It also included Sunako holding her hand for a long time, because Witches couldn't touch people without extracting their souls from them. Luckily, Sunako had enough power to . . . well, people couldn't grow new souls, but as long as she still had part of her soul it could heal itself, and had noticed that Noi-chan wasn't sucking away so much anymore.

Noi-chan had been really happy that day. They'd held a secret, small celebration in tribute.

"Noi-chan," she muttered to the air, walking and concentrating on having a female body, clothed in deep purples and with a black, pointed hat with a wide brim appear a few feet before her. The figure had brown hair. Hopefully Noi-chan would get the message and not ignore her like she sometimes did. She didn't do it on purpose, but it was still annoying.

A small, miniscule star with many, many other stars rising above it and growing successively bigger twirled in front of her. Without pausing she stuck out her hand as the stars stopped spinning to take her dizzy friend by the arm.

"Urk!" Noi-chan placed a hand in front of her mouth before pulling it slightly away so her words weren't so muffled. "I hope I get better soon."

"You just started transportation," Sunako shrugged. "Don't worry about it." She didn't mention the fact that she'd mastered transporting herself _and_ objects _and_ other people in under an hour, but Noi-chan obviously knew because she snorted.

"I've been doing it for weeks!"

"Yes, but you don't use darkness," Sunako couldn't help but point out. "You're used to the light, and we're not in the Land of Light."

Noi-chan sighed. "Just call it Jyotis, it's so much easier."

"No."

Noi-chan 'pft'ed, but didn't say anything more on the subject. ". . . Where are we going, anyways?"

"To get my father."

"Why?"

"It's the ball tonight. All the lightest and darkest creatures will be there, and mother doesn't want him to die of a heart attack."

"Oh," Noi-chan murmured, and dropped her head.

Sunako stopped, turned, and dropped her friend's wrist. "Do you want to go."

Noi-chan shook her head. "Not really."

Sunako frowned. "They can't hurt you here, not as long as you're under our protection. They _wouldn't_ hurt you." There was a promise in those words, and the shadows around them became deeper. Things, wavering in and out of existence, started to claw at the edge of reality.

Noi-chan shook her head and was glad that she was used to her friends strange temper tantrums. "I just have so many bad memories from Jyotis. I'd like to never have to go there again and, well," she gave a weak grin, "tonight, it's almost like Jyotis is coming to me."

"Okay." Sunako grabbed Noi-chan's wrists again and they proceeded in the direction of her dad's room.

* * *

"This sucks," Kyouhei muttered against his arm, wishing silently that he'd be struck by a bird, or lightning, or a flying ice-cream truck. A gargoyle would be good, too, but only as a last resort. He heard they tended to slobber a lot.

"Now, Kyouhei," Ranmaru mock-scolded, "we need to go to this country for the alliance. Things are so tense right now. . . ." He shrugged. "Besides, the princess will be really beautiful."

"I didn't know you'd met her before," said Yuki, moving his mouth covering down so that he could eat the ice-cream he'd just nabbed from the cooler.

"It's a rule," Ranmaru explained. "Princesses are beautiful, and princes are handsome."

"What about those four girls from that Lolita Country we took over?" Takenaga calmly turned a page in his book.

"D-don't remind me." Ranmaru, Kyouhei, and Yuki shuddered. "Anyways, just because you're asexual, doesn't mean the rest of us have to be."

"Wha-what? I'm not asexual!" Takenaga sputtered.

"You are," Yuki affirmed, putting away the ice-cream and lifting the cloth that covered his mouth back into place. "Even Kyouhei's had one date, and he hates girls!"

Kyouhei and Takenaga yelled at Yuki, but nobody could tell what they were saying since they were loud and in-synch.

* * *

AN: I got the flying ice-cream truck idea from Spongebob Squarepants.

Originally, I was going to name this 'Oh, What A Tangled Web We Weave,' but that was a little long and just a bit cliché.

Next Chapter's Progress: 0 words. . . . Heheh.


	2. Part I, Chapter 2

The King of Darkness stood on the ground in her expensive, shimmering gray-and-purple dress. She was looking up at the cold sun, watching the bright dot just to the side of it move ever closer. Her sister would be here soon.

She looked back at her castle, mentally checking the things that needed to be done. She found only two more rooms needed cleaning, and that was Sunako's room and the library connected to it.

Sunako didn't really like _clean_ and _well-lit_ rooms. They just weren't her. But she had agreed, for the sake of hygiene, that the bathroom would be kept clean and the book and bookshelves at least dusted. So, around now, the maids would be finishing up the library and then leaving through the dark, shadowy room that her daughter inhabited, and then all would be finished.

The unicorns came in sight first. They were gold, of course, with silver hooves and small, copper and silver wings. Then came the chariot, also gleaming a warm gold in the slight afternoon sun. Then the people on the chariot were visible wearing pale robes and headgear.

She waited for them to touch down, not moving from her spot. A small 'thump' greeted her ears before she attempted to walk forward with her personal servant. The unicorns seemed to find gargoyles somewhat lacking and started to snort at the gray, bent over figure behind her. Emiko hissed at them and bristled when they started pawing at the ground and bobbing their heads to make their crystal horns catch the minimal light.

"Emiko," she murmured soothingly without looking behind her, "do not act like an uncivilized barbarian just because these Jyotians do not know their manners."

Emiko settled down with a glare for the Jyotians before her. The unicorns froze, then tossed up their heads, refusing to look at the people in front of them.

"Kin! Furoko! Be nice!" came the scolding voice of her sister.

_Now comes the fun part_, thought the King of Darkness. The guests from Jyotis stepped down from their chariot. _I hope Sunako-chan and Noi-chan can keep my husband away._

* * *

Sunako was sitting cross-legged on the floor, covering her eyes and counting backwards from one hundred.

It really wasn't her idea.

She and Noi-chan had been walking down the hallway, discussing how to distract her father, when the man in question had come out of a nearby room with his sword in hand. The three people had paused and stared at each other.

"Ah! Sunako and Noi-chan!" Her father had wiped his face with the towel around his neck. His eyes warmed at the sight of the two girls (Sunako had never really seen her father smile) before asking, "What brings you here?"

Then Noi-chan spoke up. "Will you join us for a game of hide and seek?"

Whoever said that Noi-chan was an innocent little girl had obviously never tried to stand up to her pout. Sometimes she would ask for the most ridiculous things . . . and actually get them!

They decided to play in the abandoned side of the castle for the duration of the feast—the East side, where the sun would be setting to.

Noi-chan had offered up Sunako as the first finder, and then warned her in a nice way not to use the shadows to help find them. Sunako had asked her what would be the sport in that?

She'd heard the pattering of feat leaving, and her father wondering briefly to Noi-chan, "Won't mother be mad at me for missing the ball tonight?" Noi-chan had laughed, and said something that Sunako could only hear as distant muffled sounds.

"3 . . . 2 . . . 1 . . ." she opened her eyes and whispered to herself, "zero."

* * *

Yuki, Takenaga, and Kyouhei rolled their eyes at Ranmaru's antics.

He was smiling at the King of Darkness with all the charm he possessed, which was quite a lot. He stepped forward off the carriage after the Queen (who was scolding the Unicorns) and used his god-like grace to approach the King. He smiled at her prettily and said, "It's a pleasure to meet you," all suave-like, bowing and bringing her hand to his lips. His eyes were sultry in the least-innocent sense of the word beneath long, thick lashes.

"Quite," said the King briskly. She patted him on the head with her free hand and pulled her other away when Ranmaru stiffened in shock at being treated like a dog. She strolled with dignity to the ones who were snickering and smiled up at them with a plastered-beatific face. Yuki and Takenaga thought that it was because she'd been slightly affected by Ranmaru and was trying to get back her bearings, while Kyouhei didn't notice. "I welcome you all to my home," she said, glancing at her sister and Ranmaru to include them. The men bowed while the Queen curtsied. "I hope that your stay here is comfortable, and that if you have any problems at all that you will inform me or a servant so that the problem may be rectified as soon as possible."

This was more formality than anything else. With the King and Queen sisters they knew how to treat people from the opposing land. But, as the realms were naturally conflicting, it was better to err on the side of caution, especially as moods were tense right now. This whole visit was to improve relations as best they could before things got worse.

"Of course, Madame King." The Queen of Light swept forward and curtsied. The King of Darkness responded in kind. Then the Queen of Light sashayed forward to wrap her arms around her sister's neck. "It's good to see you again."

The Kind of Darkness smiled and once again repeated her sister's action. "Yes, it is." _I only hope my daughter and husband will be safe. Noi-chan, second daughter, please look after them. . . ._

* * *

AN: I don't know. I'm just making up names, since this is a different world. I don't think Furoko means anything, though Kin is a Japanese boys name for 'Golden.' Jyotis is an Indian name for a female, and it means 'Light of the sun.' Sorry for not explaining that before.

Oh, and since Sunako never was rejected, she still likes the dark things, but she hasn't stopped caring about her looks. At least, not to such a degree. She's not flamboyant, or anything like that. And about her room: Sunako's mother meant that Sunako's room does need cleaning, but they're not cleaning it, so: two rooms needed cleaning, but only the library was actually cleaned.

**Also, I have no idea on the name for Sunako's aunt. If anyone does, please, please tell me.**


	3. Part I, Chapter 3

Kyouhei yawned at the table. Dinner was almost over, and he couldn't wait for the dancing to start. Seating arrangements had placed their Queen near the head of the table, sitting right next to the King of Darkness, and the four princes were scattered around the table at regular intervals next to important diplomats.

It turned out that some diplomats were gremlins, and the one he had been placed next to slobbered. Kyouhei figured that people got gargoyles and gremlins mixed up, somehow, in the rumors about the creatures inhabiting the Land of Darkness, because gargoyles didn't drool at all. In fact, they looked quite rough and dry.

He hoped the Queen felt his hatred oozing at her for being so calm and happy while talking to her sister.

Dinner ended and everyone wandered into the ballroom. Kyouhei shuddered, feeling eyes crawling over his body, and hoped nobody would ask him to dance. "Would you like to dance?" came a squeaky voice from below. He looked down and saw the diplomat he'd been seated next to.

". . ."

The gremlin looked up at him with watering eyes and slobbering lips. Kyouhei said something not-so-nice before his brain could quite catch up to him.

"You're a girl?"

The poor gremlin burst into tears.

"Now, now—don't cry." The gremlin sniffled and looked up through tears into Ranmaru's warm eyes. Ranmaru twitched, but otherwise held himself together in the face of such ugliness. "I apologize for my cousin's brash words. His mouth wanders when faced with a beautiful woman."

The gremlin smiled and giggled. Her teeth sparkled through her drool.

Kyouhei put Ranmaru's distraction to good use and sidled away in a very quiet manner. Noticing the stares her and the other princes of Jyotis were gathering (it was very scary, being stared at by so many bulging eyes above mouths with teeth much sharper than any fangirl's to date—an amazing feat, to be sure), he went to a nearby guard, cleared his throat awkwardly, and said, "I need to use the bathroom and have no idea where it is."

The guard pointed to the door. "There are men and women outside that door who will be happy to assist."

"Thank you."

He all but ran to the door. Some creatures tried to delay him, but he continued on with the mention of needing to use the bathroom and was never forced to completely stop.

A butler (who happened to be a Dark elf) led him to the nearest facilities. Kyouhei hesitated on entering through the door and looked at the elf beside him, who stood at attention and asked very professionally, "Is there a problem, Prince?"

"Oh, no. It's just that I'll be able to find my way back fine by myself, so you don't need to stand outside the bathroom waiting for me."

Red eyes focused on him. "If you are sure."

"Yes."

The butler marched back to the ballroom without mentioning that it was all the same to him—both the door to the bathroom and the door to the ballroom were very similar, the only difference being that the ballroom door was a double door and much bigger.

Kyouhei entered the bathroom (which was very clean, but very dark) and lit a few candles with the one already lit by the door so that he could actually see with something besides the mirrors and his own natural glow. Then he locked the bathroom door from the inside and slid down to the floor in a fetal position, trying to prepare himself for the rest of the week.

Thoughts such as _I hate dancing_ and _That dragon looked like it wanted to eat me!_ did not help.

* * *

Sunako wasn't actually looking for Noi-chan and her father yet. She was sitting in one of the shadows, playing with Josephina-san. She'd generally leave the skeleton in her room, but figured that if Noi-chan did get testy about her taking so much time and went to go look for her then it wouldn't be very good to be in her room, and she could always just banish Josephina-san back.

". . . died gruesome deaths, and I really would have liked to watch if only Noi-chan weren't a Witch, too." She sighed. "And I know we've already hashed out this issue before, but with Jyotian's here after so many years of not caring, and all because they hate Witches and we have one that happens to be my mom's surrogate daughter, I'm a little worried." There was a pause in which Sunako may or may not have been listening to a plastic skeleton talk to her, but at any rate she sighed after a few seconds. "You're right. I'd better go find them." She banished Josephina-san back to her room. "Knowing my dad, they're both hiding in the same place.

* * *

After half an hour Kyouhei knew his Queen would have realized he was missing and started back to the ballroom.

After fifteen minutes of walking around he groaned. It figured he'd get lost. He didn't know where he was, but nothing looked familiar. It was pitch black most places, and the only reason he hadn't bumped into anything was because his glow brought objects into a somewhat blurry view.

"This is ridiculous," he muttered to himself. "Having to send out a search party for a prince lost in the castle of the people we're supposed to be making better relations with." He just knew his family was going to blame him.

Something caught his senses, then. Something dark and . . . and _crawly-feeling_ was heading his way. If it was a dragon he _definitely_ didn't want to be noticed. Concentrating hard, the natural glowing of the royal blood of Jyotians' faded until he, like the objects around him, became a dark shadow.

The creepy thing he'd sensed shuffled along on light feet, making him dismiss the thought of a dragon. It still felt very dangerous, however, and his concentration on simply Not Glowing never wavered.

His heart nearly stopped when the creepy thing stopped right in front of him. He could hear the thing shifting, and smelled . . . _lilac soap_?

"I know you're there," said a vaguely amused female voice. "I'm just surprised you're not with Noi-chan—I thought you were afraid of the dark." Kyouhei would have been insulted if he hadn't known that she was mistaking him for someone else. After all, who was "Noi-chan"?

The female jerked on his arm, and in his surprise he lost his concentration.

There was a few second's pause as Kyouhei stared into the eyes of a woman with long dark hair and a shocked expression. Then the woman screamed, and Kyouhei was covered in blood.

* * *

AN: Since this is another universe, I suppose the odds of Josephina-san still existing are pretty slim. I'm keeping her.


	4. Part I, Chapter 4

_**WARNING:**__ unbeta'd chapter ahead_

At the sound of the scream the various search parties all froze for one brief second (for even if they were considered dark, dangerous creatures, they didn't actually hear bloodcurdling shrieks all that often since everyone around them was generally considered dark, dangerous creatures, too). Then everybody rushed towards the sound.

When met with the sight of one of the Princes of Light holding up their own Princess of Darkness awkwardly, both covered in blood, the various dark creatures assumed the worst. Growling low, a few of the scarier creatures moved forward by crawling, flying, slithering, and stalking.

Kyohei backed up, dragging the Princess of Darkness with him and wondering if the expressions on these creatures' faces were scarier now than when they wanted to romance him. He decided they were about the same and began glancing about for help. However, there were no creatures of Light in sight, and the Queen and his friends were most likely still at the party.

Suddenly a dark spot appeared on the floor, growing larger and lashing about wildly before the King of Darkness popped out. The darkness receded and she landed on the floor, stumbling slightly because of her heels. "Stop!" she ordered the creatures, holding up one hand in their direction and leaning the other on the wall to catch her balance. "They are here to better relations between our lands, not start a war!" she reminded them all.

The creatures all shuffled awkwardly, and one imp managed to point behind the King and say, "But the blood!"

The King turned around and stared, noticing for the first time that, yes, her daughter was passed out in the hands of one of Jyotian's princes (his name was Kyohei Takano, if she wasn't mistaken), and they were indeed spattered with a fair amount of blood.

She turned back around. "It's Sunako's _problem_," she emphasized, having realized that almost immediately. The creatures took a few seconds to think on that and remember when Noi-san had first come to the land seeking sanctuary. Some creatures nodded sheepishly before walking away, and some still looked at Kyohei suspiciously, but most simply turned around and left without doing anything.

Then the entourage from Jyotis arrived, led by the same Dark elf that had shown Kyouhei the bathroom. The King of Darkness explained what had happened to the Queen of Light while Ranmaru, Takenaga, and Yuki gathered around Kyouhei. Yuki even managed to make the pun of, "Nice catch," for which the other three shook their heads at him for.

"But she is rather beautiful," Ranmaru agreed. "Beneath all that blood," he hastily added.

Kyouhei squinted at the girl still in his arms. "I guess. . . ."

The four men froze as the girl suddenly groaned. She scrunched up her nose and slowly squinted open here eyes.

* * *

Sunako Nakahara was having a very nice time being unconscious and surrounded by black before being pulled irresistibly back to the waking world. She groaned in despair and glared at nothing behind her eyelids, knowing she'd have to open her eyes soon as it felt like she was needed right now, somewhere. She could vaguely remember searching for her father and Noi-chan, but hadn't been able to find them before. . . .

Ah, well, whatever. It would come to her. For now she'd settle on opening her eyes, which she did so.

She was surprised by the glow that met her eyes and was forced to squint up at the four most . . . beautiful . . . men. . . .

"KYAAAH!!!" Blood spurted out of her nose and managed to hit one of the Creature's of Light fully in the face and splatter the other three before she tried to back away and ended up struggling against the arms of the man she'd hit with most of the blood spurt.

"Hey—" he began angrily before she elbowed him in the stomach. He "ooph"-ed and she slid away behind her mother, cowering.

"Sunako-chan!" Sunako froze for a moment in horror before another Creature of Light managed to hug her, ignoring the blood stains drying on her long-sleeved shirt. "It's been ages!"

Sunako froze, knowing she couldn't simply elbow this woman in the stomach like she had the man, for this woman was likely as not to have some devious scheme up her sleeves to make Sunako's life miserable, and her misery would probably be in direct correlation to how "manly" she acted.

She hoped dearly that her aunt hadn't seen her elbow that man.

"Hello Aunty," she said clearly through frozen lips.

"Oh, darling!" Sunako was forcefully turned around, and she used her long bangs to hide her eyes from the direct site of all the light radiating off of her aunt so that she wouldn't get blood all over her. (If she had been more exposed to her aunt, or Creature's of the Light in general, this might not have been a problem, but she honestly only saw her Aunt in years, and Noi-chan glowed less every day.) "Look at your clothes!" Her sleeve was tugged. "And your hair!" Her bangs were fingered, but blessfully left over her eyes. "They're an absolute horror!" Her Aunt dutifully ignored her sister's icy glare in order to place her hands on her hips and demand, "And where were you this evening, young lady? I was expecting you at the ball!"

Sunako fumbled with words—managing an eloquent, "Ah—uh—"—before being saved by an unlikely person.

"Ah. . . . Noi-chan," Sunako's mother finished lamely.

Sunako twisted her neck to smile at her frozen pseudo-sister. Noi-chan's eyes were wide as she took in the Jyotian's, and Sunako could feel her Aunt's hand clenching suddenly on her arm. She looked back out of the corner of her eye to see her Aunt staring at Noi-chan unblinkingly, like prey watching a predator, before her eyes flickered over to the Princes. Three of them were wary, too, but more shocked and curious as they took in the site of the first Witch they'd ever seen. The fourth one was still rubbing his side and seemed to be muttering evil things under his breath.

Her father ignored this all beautifully.

"Hello," he stepped forward, hiding Noi-chan from sight (whether by accident or design no one could tell). "It is nice to see you again, Queen Mitsuko, and to meet you all for the first time," he nodded to the Princes. His wife gave him an adoring look for his tact.

The Queen of Light said, "Ah," and blinked as though to bring herself back to the present. Her hand unclenched from her niece's bicep and Sunako took this opportunity to slip out of her grasp, sliding behind her father to her best friend in the entire world.

"Noi-chan. . . ."

Noi-chan blinked at her with large eyes and a white face. "Sunako-chan. . . . I. . . ." She didn't continue, but her body started shaking in a delayed reaction.

"Let's go," Sunako said in her gentlest fashion (which wasn't all that gentle, really, when not faced with some macabre object or creature) and grabbed Noi-chan's hands to lead her down the hall and away from the people representing the country that had tried to execute her.

* * *

AN: I can't remember if Noi calls Sunako "Sunako-chan" or not, and I don't have the books with me. If it's wrong, please tell me.

I did have a suggestion for Sunako's Aunt's name (Mitsuko) that I'm going to use, but I'm still going to try to avoid naming her if I can to try to stay as close to the manga as possible (character-wise, I mean).

Also, I know I said that only people of royal blood from Jyotis glow, but that was knowledge from Kyouhei's perspective. That's not actually the truth.

**I also just realized I don't know the names of Sunako's father or mother. Does anyone know? Or at least have ideas?**


	5. Part I, Chapter 5

"So. . . ." Yuki began awkwardly. When it became apparent that the other three men in the room were unwilling to continue what Yuki had begun, Yuki squared his cute little jaw and said, "The Witch didn't seem so bad."

"We only saw her for about three seconds," Takenaga countered from his place on the bed, not bothering to look up from his book, though his eyes weren't moving to actually read the words.

"Still, she looked like a normal Jyotian," Yuki pressed. "She didn't look like a slobbering demon hell-bent on the destruction of civilization at all!" Yuki finished triumphantly, obviously quoting someone he'd heard or something he'd read.

Ranmaru reminded Yuki, "That's part of the danger. They don't look different at all from normal people, but they can suck your very soul from your body and enhance their own power until they're nearly unstoppable."

Yuki winced at being reminded of what Witch Gyrdh had done. And what Witch Jemorah, Witch Yangle, Witch Ichigo, Witch Hiroto, and many other Witches had attempted to do.

"But she seemed very nice," Yuki continued doggedly. "At least," he amended after Takenaga, Ranmaru, and Kyouhei (who'd rolled over) gave him looks that clearly said 'we haven't even talked to her yet,' "The King of Darkness and her Queen seem like sensible people capable of judging someone's character. Also, Noi-san has been here for years, and nothing horrible has happened yet!"

Kyouhei sighed from his bed. "Will you guys quit yappin'?" he yawned. "You can discuss this all night, but it's not going to change the fact that we only saw her for a few seconds and know nothing about her that we don't know about all Witches. And we've already planned to give her a chance," he reminded them, as if they could forget that their countries could very well go to war over the Land of Darkness hosting a Witch. Then he rolled away again and tried to fall asleep.

Yuki and Ranmaru looked at Kyouhei for a moment before they sighed and lifted their hands hopelessly in unison. Takenaga continued "reading" as the other two decided Kyouhei was obviously a lost hope. They left him to his sleep as they talked about Witch Noi until Takenaga pulled them with him when he left to go do the sane thing and sleep before dawn came.

* * *

Sunako stayed with Noi-chan all night, calming her best friend down and eventually simply sleeping with her on the same bed so that she wouldn't worry so much.

They awoke in the morning to a servant drawing the shades and letting in the pale light of the sun. Sunako wasn't used to this, as her room had a window facing away from the sun, and glared at the offending star even though she was a morning person.

"I could try to destroy it," she mumbled to herself, not entirely sure she could do it but seriously contemplating trying. Noi-chan looked at her oddly before following her line of sight and laughing.

"But then we wouldn't have any plants," she disagreed, and Sunako had to accede to the point. She rather liked eating plants, and the animals that fed off the plants, and the animals that fed off the animals that fed off the plants, and . . . well, so it goes. She returned to her own room to change out of the nightclothes she'd borrowed from Noi-chan before meeting up with her adopted sister at the top of the stairs.

They descended, chatting about the country full of people dressing up like Gothic Lolita that the Jyotians had taken over a year ago. Noi-chan wondered what it must be like to always dress up in dark colors and frills.

"I'm not saying I'd want to do it every day," she assured, as she did every time she talked about them to Sunako. "But sometimes. . . . I mean, I've seen those corsets. They look positively _beautiful_. And even the plain cloth bodices, with their intricate designs, or buttons, or both, or—"

Sunako, who'd never had much interest in clothes, still paid attention because Noi-chan was her best friend and she cared for her. She grunted and nodded in all the right places until they reached the kitchen.

"With guests staying, the dining hall will now serve breakfast, lunch, and dinner at set times," the cook apologized. Sunako and Noi-chan sighed but dutifully backtracked to enter the dining hall. They had never had to eat in the hall before when the Queen visited, but then again she'd never before brought the Princes with her, nor had it been for a political instead of social reason.

Of _course_ the People of the Light would already be there.

There was a very awkward, painful moment of silence. The Jyotians' eyes were riveted to the girls in the doorway (mostly Noi-chan) and Noi-chan herself was pale and barely stopping herself from hiding behind Sunako. As it was she kept twitching, which probably made her look shifty and untrustworthy to the strangers.

The King of Darkness stood up and held out her hand to her two daughters. "Ah, the maidens of the castle!" Her sister and husband gave her especially odd looks for talking so unlike herself, but she had achieved her goal of focusing everyone's attention on herself, so she didn't mind. "I'm sorry I could not give proper introductions last night, but we were all a little preoccupied," she said bashfully. This was something of an understatement, and Sunako snorted. "But now we can do this properly."

The King waved her hands about fancily. "Ambassadors from the Land of Light, Jyotis, I present to you my first daughter, the Princess of the Land of Darkness, Rajani, Sunako."

Sunako uncrossed her arms and gave a bow, as her pants weren't conducive to curtsying. She could feel her Aunts disapproval from across the hall.

"And this is my second daughter, Princess in name only to the Land of Darkness, Rajani, Naie."

There came a gasp from Yuki. Everyone turned to look at him. "Ah—no, it's nothing," he began, waving off their concerns (the people at the table) and suspicions (Sunako and Noi-chan). "It's just that, well, we've been calling you 'Noi,'" he said to the resident Witch, who blinked at being addressed by a person she was sure hated her very being. "We didn't know your name, you see, except that we know that's not it, and, so, we apologize," he finished in a flustered manner.

Noi-chan stared at him for a few seconds, trying to process the fact that a Prince of Light was being polite to her, and had actually apologized for getting her name wrong.

She smiled.

"It's fine," she said, finally feeling relaxed enough in present company to move forward and sit down at the table. Sunako followed. "'Noi' is a nickname, and most people use it."

Then the King of Darkness introduced the people from the Land of Light. Things were still a little tense when people got back to eating their food, but it was at least a polite affair, and Noi-chan and Yuki attempted to talk to talk to each other, the Queen adding in her opinion now and then. Ranmaru looked like he was contemplating something while staring at Noi-chan, but a surreptitious kick from the Queen's direction seemed to dissuade him.

Sunako stared suspiciously from under her hair, not knowing that Ranmaru was simply a lady-killer and pervert.

". . . your dress is so lovely," the Queen concluded, giving Noi-chan at least the appearance of a warm smile. "Unlike other's." She stared pointedly in Sunako's direction, who concentrated fully on the toast she was spreading strawberry preserves on. (Strawberries were one of those plants she'd miss if she destroyed the sun.)

"Thank you," Noi-chan responded, pretending to be oblivious to the Queen's glare at her friend. She had chosen something black, of course, and her hat was currently resting on the empty seat next to her, leaving her hair free and a spot of light on the Dark side of the table.

Breakfast finished cordially, and Sunako stopped nibbling on her food as soon as her mother stood up. She tugged Noi-chan gently on the arm before escaping from the room full of tension.

* * *

AN: "So it goes," while not the best choice of phrase for where I added it, comes from the very good, very depressing book about World War II called Slaughterhouse-Five by Kurt Vonnegut. The Tralfalmadorians, who are aliens which see in four dimensions and may not actually exist, say it a lot. I couldn't resist.

"Rajani" means "the dark one" in Indian. I was thinking of naming the Land of Darkness "Shyama" instead, but it means "dark, black, blue," and that "blue" made it second choice. Which is a shame, since I like the word "Shyama" better than "Rajani." (No offense meant if Rajani is your name—it's just my opinion.)

Also, I apologize. I was trying to keep each section to one person's mind, but the second part became three people, and I didn't want to put in dividers for only a paragraph or so on someone's thoughts. And the first section was no one's POV in particular, although I tried to make it Yuki (at first). This may happen again, but I hope not.


	6. Part I, Chapter 6

Queen Mitsuko was chatting with her sister on a veranda facing the sun. The King of Darkness sipped at her tea and ate a small sandwich while watching winged bone humanoids flying in the sky.

"—but the general populous was very unpleased with your decision to not only grant her asylum, but adopt her. I apologize for not visiting sooner," the Queen finished.

The King shook her head. "It's fine," she sighed. "But that's not what I wanted to talk to you about."

"Oh?" The Queen nibbled on a croissant and raised her eyebrows. "I didn't know there was any reason other than Witch Naie to call me out to a secluded veranda."

"Sunako."

The Queen stared. "Oh, surely it doesn't bother you that much that I want your daughter to be more girly? To act more like a woman than a creature, or a man?"

"It bothers Sunako," said the King. "I don't like people forcing her to do things, or _become_ someone, that she doesn't want."

The Queen sighed. "I think that's part of the problem, you know," she grumbled half-heartedly. "She's too free spirited. And, well, have you seen her room?"

"Of course."

The Queen started ranting as though she hadn't heard. "There's no light except in the bathroom! I mean, I understand that the creatures of the Land of Darkness _like_ the dark, but how can she see? And her wardrobe! It's so small! And less than half are dresses, and all of them are for formal occasions! Have you seen her makeup? Her hair products? She has chapstick! Shampoo! Conditioner! And what about those dolls of hers? Those movies? How do you expect her to get a man?"

The King, who hadn't had to listen to any of this since her sister's last visit years ago, sighed, but responded. "My daughter is very good at controlling the Darkness and has no need of light if she concentrates. She often does things that skirts and dresses simply aren't made for; you should _know_ how spells make them billow. But she does understand the . . . 'need' for them in formal occasions. I also know for a fact that she has more makeup and hair products than that—she simply does not wear them everyday, and they're not on her dresser or counter. And such dolls and movies are quite normal for a child born in Rajani."

"And a man?" the Queen prompted.

The King was tempted to say something about Sunako possibly liking woman, but refrained because she was sure that she didn't. That five second crush on a Dark Elf doorman was proof of that. "Sunako does not feel the need for a man in her life at this moment." And then she could help her next barb at the Queen, because these complaints _always_ happened when her sister came to visit, and she'd been hoping that the years had mellowed her. Her disappointment came out sharp and hurtful. "And she is an actual child of Dark inside the Land of Darkness, and so has no need to prove herself by catching men. She is confident in. . . ."

The King trailed off because her sister had grown pale and actually _hunched_ her shoulders. "I—forgive me," she began, wincing and regretting the sentences she'd thrown out just to wound her sister. "I—I was merely frustrated at this situation between our countries. It has often been on my mind lately."

"Hm," said Mitsuko, caught up in her own past, which was full of herself not fitting in with the people in the Land of Darkness, her homeland.

The King hesitated, before bringing up a subject that she knew would cheer the Queen up. "I know I've thanked you for this many times before, but once again, thank you for introducing me to my husband."

This did cheer up the Queen considerably, and she straightened up before launching into an explanation of other people she'd successfully matched. The King smiled as she listened.

A spot of brightness appeared against the sky. The Queen stopped talking as soon as she noticed her sister focusing on something other than her, and they both watched the brightness come with a feeling of dread. The Phoenix, a bird marking the letter it carried as highly important, alighted on the stone railing. The Queen reached out to remove the letter from the leg canister while the King offered the bird half of a small, toasted bagel with meat and cheese melted on top.

As the bird of fire chewed the Queen pursed her lips before looking at her sister. "I'm sorry, but there's a situation. I need to return to Jyotis immediately."

The King nodded, having expected nothing less from a message carried by a Phoenix.

"We are lucky enough that the princes came with me and can stay as acting ambassadors."

The King stared. "Er."

The Queen cut her off, knowing what she was thinking. "They may not be used to your land, but they must learn sometime how to deal with a place in direct opposition to their nature. One of them will be King one day, and hopefully when that time comes relations between our nations will stay fair. Also, it shows us royaly trust you!"

The King sighed, and assented, before pausing and looking up at her sister through her lashes. "I hope you're not leaving them here in the hopes that one of them will 'tame' my daughter. . . ."

The Queen laughed and waved her hands. "Oh, no, not at all! If, however, something of that nature were to happen. . . . Well, I'd be very pleased." She gave an unsubtle wink, and the King decided to just accept it.

After all, knowing her daughter, a romance was very unlikely to happen.

* * *

AN: And that concludes Part I! Yay!

It is my opinion that most people crush on a Dark Elf for at least a few seconds. Dark Elves are just that amazing. And yes, that Dark Elf doorman is the same one who showed Kyouhei to the bathroom. I don't know if this'll ever come up again, though. It's not like the Dark Elf knew about it, after all. But mothers always know.

Also, the whole "keeping each sections only one person's POV" thing isn't going to work out. Ah well.


	7. Part II, Chapter 1

When the princes heard that their aunt had received a Phoenix Letter they were concerned but accepting of the situation. After all, it wasn't her fault that something important (and most likely terrible) had occurred in their kingdom while they were in the Land of Darkness. It was most likely another violent protest against Witch Noi, although it could have been something different and equally serious. The princes were actually quite excited for this chance to go back home so soon, and they were all working together to figure out a way to avoid coming back.

When they learned that their aunt had already left for Jyotis they were considerably less understanding.

"What the hell was she thinking?" Kyouhei raged as he stomped on the ground like a five-year-old. Yuki was crying on the floor, having met a ghost earlier and deciding he "never wanted to see one ever again but now that he had to stay longer he definitely would and—" etcetera. Ranmaru was also crying, although this had more to do with being stuck in a castle with only three good-looking females, all of whom were uninterested and could kill him on a whim. Takenaga's crying was for the simplest reason—he was stuck in a castle filled with a bunch of scary things in the Land of Darkness.

"We wanna go home!" all four yelled in tandem. Kyouhei was the first to race out of the room, although the other three quickly got up and followed. They raced down the hall their room was on and then up another to reach the King's office. (They were all very thankful that the King's office was so close and that they didn't get lost looking for it.)

Kyouhei threw open the door and yelled, "King!"

The King finished signing a document (which requested more penicillin for a small town) and smiled coolly as she placed her quill back in the ink bottle. "Yes? Do you need something?"

Kyouhei's eyes narrowed, but he hesitated to say anything for fear of making the powerful woman very angry. He wanted to leave, but hadn't stopped to plan how he could make that happen before charging in to talk to the King. Now he felt kind of stupid.

Takenaga stepped forward with a sigh. "We were wondering if you had transportation for us to go home." Then, because the explanation _We're afraid of this land and everything in it_ could be taken as offensive, he added, "We would like to join our Queen and help her with whatever event warranted the use of a Phoenix."

The King nodded her head slowly. "I see. I must apologize, but although I do have the means to bring you back to your homeland I cannot allow you to leave. The Queen left specific instructions for you four to stay here, both as a show of good faith and so that you learn how Rajanis live." She turned to a stack of papers off to the side, ignoring the four princes' gaping faces. "In fact, I have something planned that I would have told you tonight at dinner, but since you're already here. . . ." She pulled off the top paper and handed it to Takenaga. "I am sending you four, along with my two daughters and some guards, to visit some of Rajani's settlements. You can see my people and how they live, as compared to Jyotians."

Takenaga stared at the paper in his hands blankly. Yuki peeked over his shoulder. "Oh!" he exclaimed. "We're going to Grambie?"

The King gave a kinder smile to Yuki than she had to Kyouhei. "Yes. I thought you might enjoy a visit."

Yuki and Ranmaru squealed in fanboy-ish delight and started waxing poetic.

"Oh, think of the spa, with its mud baths and facials, manicures and pedicures" said Ranmaru with stars in his eyes.

Yuki continued. "And the food—three-tiered devil's chocolate cakes; crepes with strawberries, caramel, and whip cream; honey-glazed ham~!"

Kyouhei stared. "What are you—advertisers?"

The King sat back with a satisfied air and said, "Is that all? Or is there some other matter you wish to bring up?"

Takenaga read all the way down to the end of the page and realized some information was missing. "Yes. How long will this journey take?"

"As long as it needs to. I do not want to rush you, or make you stay longer than you'd like. This is just a simple way to get to know the Land of Darkness and its various species."

Takenaga nodded. He had another question: "Why are you sending us on a tour with your daughter and Witch Noi?" But he once again feared being rude, and, unknowing of the politics in the Land of Dark and how much he could get away with, bit the question back.

* * *

Sunako peeked into the kitchen. "Kasumi-san? Can I have a picnic basket with bread, salami, and cheese?"

The cook looked up from where she was slicing cucumbers and smiled. "Of course, dear. Just give me a moment." Kasumi slid the cucumber slices into a bowl filled with other slices of cucumbers and washed her hands before finding a basket and large patterned cloth. She took a loaf of bread out of the oven to cool and slid in some muffins before opening a cabinet and removing an already cool loaf of bread. As she went to the cold box to get some salami Sunako and Noi-chan entered the kitchen.

Noi-chan looked around for the others on the kitchen staff. "Where are Hideki-kun and Himeko-chan?"

Kasumi laughed. "Oh, I gave those two lovebirds a break. They were mooning over each other across the room. Besides, it's close to lunch. They won't be out too much longer than they usually are, and I can keep up here until they come back." She sliced off a thick piece of cheese and placed it in the basket next to the salami before handing over the whole basket to Sunako. "I don't suppose you'd want some wine or lemonade?"

"Lemonade, please."

Sunako added, "And some strawberries, too, please."

Thirty-two seconds later Sunako and Noi-chan were leaving the castle and ducking under gnarled black branches. Sunako carried the basket, as Noi-chan was wearing a dress and had to lift it up sometimes to step over logs. They didn't stick to the path, preferring to trek through the dead plants and creeping vines and carnivorous flowers. Noi-chan found the plants very creepy, but was not afraid of being eaten.

five years ago, she would have been. After all, she had actually been eaten by a plant. She'd been in the castle only a little while and didn't know about the dangers even plants could represent to those unprepared in the Land of Darkness. She had been alone in the garden and got her foot tangled in what she had initially thought was a harmless dark-green branch. Well, that thought changed quickly enough. The tree had picked her up by her ankle and plopped her in its hollow before closing up with a deafening CRUNCH. It was so fast, so sudden, and she'd been unable to get out using her scant knowledge of her own powers, and spent a while screaming and pounding on the bark ineffectually from the inside before the poison coating the inside had taken its toll and she'd fainted. She'd come to in Sunako's arms as the girl battled against three bushes and a very vicious daffodil.

Since then Sunako had grown a name for herself among the sentient plants in the garden, and no other plants had touched Noi-chan. She had grown less frightened as more and more time passed until she wasn't afraid to step more than a few steps into the garden surrounding the castle. Of course, it helped that the tree that had actually eaten her was destroyed.

Sunako was not very forgiving to those who hurt her friends.

Eventually they came upon a clearing on a slight rise with a large patch of thorny black flowers off to the side.

"Here?"

"Here," Sunako affirmed before spreading out the sheet on the ground next to the flowers. Noi-chan took out the napkins, glasses, and pitcher of lemonade carefully. Sunako dumped the food and knife onto the sheet before arranging it. She started slicing the bread. "What do you feel like today?"

Noi-chan stacked the slices of bread on napkins and tapped her chin. "I've been feeling off balance lately," she started slowly, "because of the Jyotians coming here. Maybe I should work on that."

Sunako sliced two pieces of cheese from the chunk. "Do you need the ruler?"

Noi-chan nodded as she watched Sunako chop off two pieces of meat from the salami log. "Would you Summon it?"

"You need the practice," Sunako said, not unkindly. She stacked the meat on top of the cheese and bread and reached for the small container of strawberry chunks that had been covered in sugar until the juice seeped out. She dumped the whole container into the lemonade and started swirling it around to mix it.

Noi-chan sighed. "Well, don't blame me if the ruler comes out in pieces."

Sunako poured the strawberry-lemonade into the glasses. "If that happens I'll put it back together."

Noi-chan nodded, took a deep breath in, let it out, in, out, and closed her eyes to concentrate. She focused first on a light brown object, long, thin, wooden, with little black marks on it in the shape of lines and numbers. Around her she could feel the few rulers in the castle calling out to her. She picked the one she was pretty sure was in her own room (although it may have been the one in Sunako's room since those rooms were right next to each other and it was hard to tell dimension or direction when she was not physically present) and concentrated.

Above the echoes of wood and rooms she could feel the Darkness. It was not comforting for her like it was for Sunako. Instead of helping her it hindered her Summoning, twining black tendrils with everything she could see and feel when what she truly needed to work magic was Light.

She grabbed for the ruler gently, even as the Dark drifted and tangled with her powers. It was trying to help her, in its own way, not knowing that it was only getting in the way. She avoided the strands as best she could and touched wood—Summoned—!

Noi-chan opened her eyes with a gasp to find herself looking at the sky. She must have leaned back while Summoning. She straightened up and accepted the strawberry-lemonade Sunako handed her. She searched for the ruler on the blanket folds in front of her and stared in despair.

"It's only three pieces this time," Sunako tried to comfort, "not splinters."

Noi-chan rubbed her eyes. "I'll never get this!" Tears of frustration appeared and she blinked severely. "I'm no better now than when I came here!"

"You _are_ better," Sunako disagreed. "It doesn't take you as long to get things, or find things. And you're not killing people as fast now when you touch them. If you'd only let the darkness help you—"

"It won't work!" snapped Noi-chan. "I've already tried that!"

Sunako reached for the ruler and started melding the wood pieces back together. She knew, although she wasn't sure how, that the Dark could help Noi-chan. Maybe not as much as Light would, but it would definitely help. She wasn't sure what Noi-chan had done the first and last time she'd attempted to use the Dark to do something, but she'd done it wrong, and now she was afraid of ever trying again. The Dark itself couldn't answer Sunako's questions on what had happened. It was not, after all, an actual living creature. It was simply an energy that co-existed with those who could use it, unable to move unless someone wanted it to. It felt things, somehow. It knew what was going on, certainly. But it had no concept of deception or morals . . . or time. The past, present, and future were one and the same, and with Noi-chan it purred as if she were using it every day. Sunako could only guess that Noi-chan would _one day_ use the Dark.

She only hoped that that day came soon.

"I . . . I'm sorry." Noi-chan laid her hand on Sunako's arm and bent down to peer up under Sunako's bangs and directly into her eyes. "I didn't mean to snap at you. I'm just . . . frustrated. About the ruler. And the princes."

"I know." Sunako nodded. "That's why I didn't snap back."

Noi-chan smiled. "Thanks."

"Welcome." Sunako handed her adopted sister a sandwich and they spent a few minutes chewing, drinking, and talking about inconsequential things.

"Alright." Sunako set aside her half-filled drink.

"Alright." Noi-chan dabbed at her lips with a napkin before setting it down. She held out her hand for the ruler and Sunako handed it to her. "Here I go!"

The thing about magic was that it was connected to the body. Only certain bodies could hold it, and of those bodies only certain types could use it. The body was the key. If it hurt, the magic hurt and didn't work as well. If it was in prime condition, the magic worked as well as it ever would for that person. And little stuff people did to their bodies changed how magic reacted to them. Eating mints would make spells about the cold easier, or bring a scent of peppermint into the room when Summoning wind. If you sat down your magic would move more sluggishly than if you were standing upright, and if you went so far as to lay down then the magic became more sluggish still.

And if you balanced a ruler on your nose then your body would be busy balancing and the magic would become balanced, too.

Noi-chan tilted up her head and placed the ruler on her nose. She stayed still, sometimes wobbling but never fully dropping the small wood piece. Sunako picked up her unfinished sandwich and chewed slowly and silently, allowing Noi-chan to concentrate.

Suddenly there was a clattering and Sunako and Noi-chan started. Noi-chan stared woefully at where the ruler fell on the ground and sighed as Sunako stood up and turned towards the winged bone-human. It clattered its teeth and held out a small sheet of paper towards Sunako. She frowned as she took it and read it.

"My mother wants to see us."

* * *

AN: "Grambie" is a made-up word.

Also, this chapter is twice the length of most of the previous chapters. Whoo!

Also also, I'm sorry for this chapter taking so long. It's been changed many times, and I wanted to complete the next chapter before posting this one so that I could make sure that I wouldn't make any more changes, but I think this one is finally done and it's been forever since I last updated so here it is! Again: Sorry for taking so long!


End file.
